Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 2,319, settled in 1812.
The best of Waynesboro’s subject grades are an A for cost of living and an A− for civic life; the weakest is a D− for incomes. 27% of residents live below the poverty line in Waynesboro, above both Tennessee’s towns (14%) and U.S. towns (9.6%). On incomes, just 10 of Tennessee’s 291 towns do worse. Waynesboro's schools rank behind 92% of the state's. Only 10 of Tennessee’s 232 towns score higher on civic life. Waynesboro has 2 places on the National Register of Historic Places, among them Waynesboro Cumberland Presbyterian Church and Wayne County Courthouse. Waynesboro has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade.
Where Waynesboro beats most towns, and one thing worth knowing.
| School | Grades | Students |
|---|---|---|
| Waynesboro Elementary | PK–4 | 407 |
| Waynesboro Middle School | 5–8 | 278 |
| Wayne County High School | 9–12 | 258 |
Where Waynesboro’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Tennessee), ordered by how far Waynesboro is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
The archive holds 6 old photos and papers going back to 1861.
2 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Waynesboro. Close and well known come first.
7 mi ParkwayNatchez Trace Parkway8.0M visitors a year
39 mi MuseumMuscle Shoals Sound Studio
34 mi National Military ParkShiloh National Military Park347K visitors a year20 mi Zoo & aquariumThe Elephant SanctuaryNatchez Trace Parkway: Carol M. Highsmith (1946–), Public domain · Muscle Shoals Sound Studio: Dailynetworks, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Shiloh National Military Park: Ernest Mettendorf, Public domain
Who provides power, water and the rest in Waynesboro, and how to reach them.
EPA SDWIS (Oct 9, 2026) · HIFLD + EIA-861 2025 · Census 2020 ZCTAs · NCES 2024–25 · registration: vote.gov, updated Nov 18, 2024.
Ordered by what stands out in Waynesboro.
About one in 4 of Waynesboro’s working residents works in town. Waynesboro’s average trip to work is 31 minutes, above both the Tennessee town median (25 minutes) and the median of U.S. towns (25 minutes). Since 2013, Waynesboro has added 796 jobs, to 2,247 in 2023.
| Waynesboro | Tennessee towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Working residents who work in town | 28% | 12% | 8% |
| Average trip to work | 31 minutes | 25 minutes | 25 minutes |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Its public schools are run by the Wayne County school district. Two of its 6 schools are below, each with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Waynesboro ElementaryLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–4 | Grades PK–4 | 407 | C |
| Wayne County High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 258 | B− |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within TN on state tests and graduation
Waynesboro beats the Tennessee average on 1 of 31 CDC measures and trails it on 9. 18% of Waynesboro adults report frequent physical distress.
| Waynesboro | Tennessee towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 18% | 16% | 14% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 21% | 19% | 14% |
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 43% | 41% | 35% |
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 16% | 14% | 12% |
| What stands out | Waynesboro | TN |
|---|---|---|
| More adults treating high blood pressure | 79.7% | 76.2% |
| More older adults who have lost all their teeth | 27.7% | 14.6% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
The typical Waynesboro home is worth about $174,000, up 6.3% in a year, 47% below the Tennessee typical home. 58% of households own their home in Waynesboro.
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Expected storm and flood damage is higher than in 77% of U.S. communities. Since 2003, 22 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Waynesboro.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Children under 18 are 12% of residents (22% statewide); people 65 and older are 24% of residents (17% statewide). Waynesboro’s median age is 46.8 years. Only 10 of the 178 Tennessee towns we compare have a lower share of children under 18 than Waynesboro.
| Waynesboro | Tennessee towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 18 | 12% | 22% | 22% |
| Median age | 46.8 years | 40 years | 40.5 years |
| Aged 65 or older | 24% | 18% | 18% |
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 22% | 23% | 29% |
46% women, 54% men
That’s an even split within the survey’s margin of ±5.5 points. Across Tennessee, 50.9% of residents are women.
| Waynesboro | TN | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 5.4% | 11.9% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 6.9% | 10.3% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 10.9% | 8.9% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 10% | 13.8% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 13.8% | 12.8% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 16.1% | 12.4% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 13.2% | 12.8% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 9.7% | 10.3% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 14.1% | 6.7% | 7% |
| No diploma | 14.5% | 10% | 10.4% |
| High school | 41.6% | 31.2% | 26% |
| Some college | 16% | 19.9% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 6.5% | 7.9% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 16.3% | 19.4% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 5.2% | 11.7% | 14.1% |
U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates · in a town of 2,300, single groups can be off by several points
Waynesboro has mild winters and warm summers, with plenty of rain. July afternoons reach 89°, January nights drop to 29° and about 1 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
The property crime rate in Waynesboro is 1.3 per 1,000 residents. Waynesboro's reported crime rate is well below Tennessee's. The violent crime rate in Waynesboro is 3 per 1,000 residents.
| Waynesboro | Tennessee towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 1.3 per 1,000 residents | 11.5 | 9.9 |
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 3 per 1,000 residents | 2.6 | 1.6 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
None within 15 miles of Waynesboro; the nearest are
About 6 of every 100 Waynesboro residents are enrolled in college, about the same as Tennessee.
City in Tennessee, United States
Waynesboro () is a city in and the county seat of Wayne County, Tennessee, United States. As of the 2020 census, Waynesboro had a population of 2,317.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Not for the area. Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades A.
